A Book Review by Christopher Jobson
Nearly a century ago Kirsopp Lake wrote, “The Gospel of John may contain a few fragments of true tradition, but in the main it is fiction. Half a century later John Robinson’s The Priority of John, the product of a lifetime of scholarship, revealed the essential trustworthiness of the Gospel of John This scholarly volte face came about with the appearance of new and older manuscripts of the gospel, and the Dead Sea Scrolls have illuminated its background. Furthermore, archaeologists have in many cases vindicated its topography and thus its veracity is no longer questioned by biblical critics.
Now Bishop Michael, a former Vicar of All Saints’ Margaret Street and successor to John Robinson as Bishop of Woolwich, has produced this well-written, concise yet deeply inciteful book. The old problems of the critics are swiftly dealt with as he leads us into a Lenten study which is obviously the result of a lifetime of prayer and a deep love of this Gospel.
At the outset we are told that it is not written for would be ‘armchair disciples’, but rather for pilgrims out on the road of an ‘inner’ journey of faith. That journey travels through the events of Holy Week and Easter as witnessed by ‘the Beloved Disciple’ who, although never named in the fourth gospel, is believed to be the apostle John.
The washing of the feet at the Last Supper is skilfully linked with the great brass laver in the Temple and the ritual of the High Priest to the Epistle to the Hebrews. It is in this context that ‘Christ our great High Priest’ gives the ‘new commandment’, to love one another. Even the seamless robe of Christ, for which the executioners drew lots, is another unique clue to this.
All this and much much more is skilfully brought to light by Bishop Michael as he charts the details of Holy Week that were recorded by a firsthand eyewitness. One of the most compelling passages is the appearance of the Risen Christ to Mary Magdalane in the garden. The ‘tradition’ that she was a reformed sinner, a rumour promulgated by Pope Gregory without any evidence, is not explained but in no way does it detract from the invitation “to look beyond to the universal and eternal”.
This little book is a valuable guide for those on the ‘journey of faith’: for others, who have known and loved the Gospel of John for many years, this is a treasure that reads like familiar music heard again but with deeper and richer harmony.
Christopher Jobson
Feature Image: Meres & Meadows Messenger